When you go grocery shopping or even when you go out to eat, what’s being placed in your bag or on your table is the result of a farmer.

This week is National Future Farmers of America Week. The week includes Feb. 22, George Washington’s birthday, and celebrates the role of agricultural education and the development of farmers and those involved in agriculture for the years to come.

Just how important is agriculture to Georgia? Even with our beaches, our history and even our burgeoning film production efforts, agriculture remains the No. 1 industry in the state. From pecan to broilers to blueberries to peaches and to peanuts and to cattle, agribusiness is still the Peach State’sbiggest business.

According to Georgia Farm Bureau, one in seven Georgians works in agriculture, forestry or a related endeavor. There were more than 42,000 farms in Georgia in 2012, with more than 9.6 million acres of land in use. The University of Georgia’s Center for Agribusiness and Economic Development says agriculture contributes $73.3 billion each year to the state’s economy. 

As has been attested to in the rebuttal of a presidential candidate’s remarks on farming, the lives of farmers now are still full of long hours and hard work — but they are also very technologically and technically savvy.

GPS isn’t just used to find the way home. It’s also used to plot where to plant. Farmers are also some of the best conservators and stewards of land and resources.

Farming has changed drastically over the years, thanks to improvements in machines. But it’s still mankind running them and it will be Georgian men and women out there in the fields tending to their crops, herds and flocks.

We thank them for their steadfast dedication to their profession and hope that through such events as National FFA Week there are generations to come to which they can pass the torch.